Consumers in Oregon last year returned 86% of all beverage containers covered under the state’s container deposit program, according to newly released figures.
Container deposit programs are starting back up following their COVID-19 downtime. Equipment supplier Tomra offered a look at how the process is playing out in Connecticut.
Although they can’t meet in person, plastics recycling stakeholders this week are still coming together for the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) members meeting, being held online for the first time.
Connecticut retailers will begin accepting deposit containers on a limited basis this week and will ramp up to full service early next month. COVID-19 disruptions to deposit programs continue in other states.
Stay-at-home orders are hitting container deposit systems hard, leading to significant declines in the volumes of high-quality PET and other recyclables moving to material processors.
The majority of beverage containers in British Columbia had their deposit values increase from 5 cents to 10 cents at the start of this month, creating more consistency in the provincial redemption program.
The statistic has taken on almost household familiarity: 91% of plastic ever created has not been recycled, and a massive amount has become litter. Jenna Jambeck, a lead researcher behind that number, recently spoke about solutions to the pollution problem.
Oregon’s container deposit system achieved an 81% redemption rate last year, significantly higher than the previous full-year figure. The increase comes after the deposit value doubled.